It is perhaps no small irony that spas — oases of wellness — posed particular challenges in the Covid-19 era, given the proximity with which aestheticians work with clients. But where there’s a will, there’s a way as evinced by the opening of two new spas in Manhattan recently, both with enhanced antiviral protocols.
At the very least, they are there for spa lovers when they feel it is safe for them to luxuriate once more.
Vicki Morav — known for her holistic ap-proach to skincare using the sumptuous Swiss skincare lines Biologique Recherche and Valmont, among others — has opened a 32,000-square-foot space on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Pietro Simone — known for facial and body treatments using his anti-aging, botanicals-based Italian Bella Complex — has opened a two-room suite at midtown’s The Parlor, a curated collection of beauty and wellness practices.
Treating
the whole person
When we interviewed Morav in the midst of the pandemic last summer, we learned that she considers the integrity of the individual — genetic history, predispositions and existing conditions — before designing a course of action that addresses nutrition, hormones, stress, exercise, environment, habits and states of mental, physical and spiritual well-being. The new space, designed by Mathew Kelly, founding CEO of MKDREAMDESIGN, reflects this on its two floors. The first floor includes a welcome area, a retail space of beauty products, new treatment rooms ornamented with crystals and state-of-the-art saunas and showers. The second floor has four treatment rooms for Morav’s anti-aging services as well as a space for panel discussions, educational workshops and meditation.
The spa is at 19 E. 71St. For more, call 212-744-4753 or visit vickimorav.com.
A new ‘theater’
When we interviewed Simone, he told us he considers the skin to be “the theater of life” as it is the largest organ in the body, one that becomes the backdrop for the self. Simone nourishes that back-drop with his two skincare lines, Essential and Prestige, which draw on such ingredients as Puglian tomato seed oil, Tuscan grapeseed oil, Vesuvian apple, edelweiss and Sicilian almond oil in a host of bespoke treatments in his Parlor locale. Among those treatments is the Aurum Radiance Infusion, which uses a 24-karat gold peel and massage to revamp and reenergize the skin.
The Pietro Simone Skincare clinic is at 160 Madison Ave. For more, visit pietrosimone.com.
